Sealord escapes fishing charges

Nelson-based fishing company Sealord Group has escaped prosecution but been formally warned following a Ministry of Fisheries investigation into alleged illegal fishing.

However, four other companies face a total of 34 charges - the most serious of which relates to omissions on official fishing returns, giving misleading statements, taking fish without the authority of a current fishing permit and using unregistered fishing vessels.

They are three Tauranga-based companies: Pelco NZ, Tawera Fishing and Matariki, and Wellington-based company Nelson Fisheries.

The companies could face maximum fines of $250,000 on some charges plus the forfeiture of vessels if found guilty.

The ministry's Tauranga district compliance officer, Brendon Mikkelsen, said yesterday that Sealord was not without fault but had escaped with a formal warning "as the offending was at the lower end of the scale, no intent was established and it did not warrant the court's intervention".

Sealord was alleged to have been fishing against the company permit while a vessel was fishing without authority and no certificate of registration, and failing to accurately report catch.

The offending was alleged to have occurred between October 2003 and January this year and related to low-value, high-volume species such as kahawai caught in New Zealand waters.

The company issued a statement at the time saying none of the company's fleet, contractors or charter boats were under investigation.

But it said it was assisting the ministry with inquiries into a third party that fished against a Sealord permit in 2003 and allegedly provided the company with inaccurate catch reports.

Sealord chief executive Doug McKay said the "so-called offending" was of a technical nature.

- NZPA